The Flesh Is Weak

²⁷ “You will all fall away,” Jesus told them, “for it is written:

“‘I will strike the shepherd,
    and the sheep will be scattered.’

²⁸ But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”

²⁹ Peter declared, “Even if all fall away, I will not.”

³⁰ “Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “today—yes, tonight—before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me three times.”

³¹ But Peter insisted emphatically, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the others said the same.

³² They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” ³³ He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. ³⁴ “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.”

³⁵ Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. ³⁶ “Abba,Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

³⁷ Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? ³⁸ Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

³⁹ Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. ⁴⁰ When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him.

⁴¹ Returning the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. ⁴² Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”

After leaving the supper, Jesus tells the disciples that not just one of them will betray him but that all of them will.  He quotes a text from Zecheriah to make his point.  It is a prophecy of great sadness, but this does not end his speech.  Now Jesus says, after I have risen which is a promise, so at the same time there is fear the reality of hope is uncovered.  Jesus tells the disciples that he will precede them.

Of course, Peter can not leave well enough alone.  He assumes that it is possible (probable?) that every one else will not be up to the task, but he is different than they are, cut from a better cloth.

Jesus rather than praising his bravado instead tells Peter that despite his claim he will deny him three times before the rooster crows twice.  But Peter will not accept it and again affirms his loyalty even to death.  The other disciples not eager to be topped all now proclaim their loyalty.

And so they come to Gethsemane and Jesus asks the disciples to wait while he prays.  He takes Peter, James and John with him (Andrew is suddenly a no show) and he begins to be distressed.  Almost certainly, this unsettling is about the path he sees in front of him.  It could also be that he looks around at Peter, James and John and realizes that his disciples are in denial and unprepared to face what is on its way.

Jesus leaves the three remaining disciples in order to go and pray on his own. He reveals to them his sadness and tells them to keep watch.  He goes further and falls to the ground and prays.  He uses the familiar term "Abba" which is the equivalent to our "Daddy" as he addresses God.  He asks for the cup to be removed from him.  This is the third reference to the cup.  He has asked his inner circle of disciples if they are able to drink the cup that he will. He offers the cup of his blood.  And now he asks for the cup to be removed.  It is almost certainly a symbol of his sacrifice.  But the hymn they likely sang at the conclusion of the passover meal references the "cup of salvation".  Jesus knows the hard path of sacrifice/salvation and pleads that if there were another way it would be taken.  But in the end, Jesus chooses not the easier way but God's will.

It is a high point in devotion and obedience, immediately mirrored in the negative by Jesus' return to his disciples who have fallen asleep.  Jesus has offered his very life in God's service while the disciples are overcome by their own need for comfort.

Simon, Jesus says.  It is the first time since Jesus renamed him Peter that he calls him by his given name.  It is as if his failure has made him no longer the "rock" upon whom the church will be built.  He is merely Simon who struggles to keep his eyes open when the fate of the universe is being decided.

Two more times, Jesus will return and each time he finds the disciples sleeping.  They have proven to be inadequate companions in his hour of need.  And now Judas is approaching and betrayal is at hand.  When the hour of sacrifice comes, the crowds that surrounded him early in the gospel have long since disappeared.  When the hour of sacrifice comes, the disciples who have sworn their loyalty are asleep.  When the hour of sacrifice comes, Jesus is profoundly alone.